One of the best innovations in Wisconsin government was the creation of the nonpartisan Government Accountability Board.

Launched in 2008, it was formed by a virtually unanimous, bipartisan vote in the Legislature. The GAB was crafted in response to the caucus scandal that sent legislative leaders from both political parties to jail for campaigning on the taxpayers' dime.

The GAB replaced separate boards, populated with political appointees, which oversaw government ethics and election administration. The new board was given the ability and the "sum-sufficient" funding to enforce ethics laws, and it was the first nonpartisan board to oversee elections.

The League of Women Voters has worked with GAB staff and testified before the board many times, mostly with regard to election administration.

The GAB is a big improvement over the old Elections Board, which was often deadlocked as its members sought to represent the partisan interests that appointed them. If you like the way Congress has operated in recent years, you would like the old Elections Board.

In contrast, the GAB has been hailed nationally in 2013 as "America's Top Model." A 2011 book about elections systems in five Midwestern states noted that the Wisconsin GAB "achieves something that up until now has been a rarity in the United States: election administration that is independent of partisan politics."

The GAB's six members are former judges. They have been nonpartisan elected officials who are experienced in making difficult decisions in a fair and thoughtful manner. The judges are nominated and confirmed through a process designed to minimize partisan influence.

A recent audit of the GAB by the Legislative Audit Bureau identified some areas where the agency needs to do a better job. It identified no misdeeds or lapses that could justify the hyperbolic rhetoric we have heard from a handful of politicians who already wished to do away with the board. The audit revealed the GAB to be an effective agency which has been limited by an oversized workload and a barely sufficient level of staffing.

With more than 1,800 municipal clerks administering elections in Wisconsin, we need a strong state agency to ensure that everyone has the same opportunity to vote, whether you live in a big city or a small village. The GAB has lived up to that charge through tumultuous political times and many changes in polling place requirements.

The League has found GAB board members and staff very willing to listen to our concerns, and their response is always timely and clear. They don't agree with us on everything, but that is to be expected from an independent agency.

We suspect the current calls to deform the GAB are simply a partisan power grab at a time when one party has the majority needed to de-fang the agency's watchdog function and craft an elections agency that can be easily manipulated for partisan gain. In times of one-party rule, regardless of which party is in the majority, we need the GAB more than ever.

Andrea Kaminski is executive director of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, a nonpartisan organization that advocates for informed and active participation in government.